I played an early mission too, with a three person party, and got my ass handed to me. I did not prepare well, I guess. Will give it another try.
I played on easy for a while until I figured some stuff out. Started a new game on Normal. This is working well for me so far:
Me : Smuggler -
They have shit skills once they get Shoot First they will OWN all combat. On occasion they get some dialogue options in missions.
Hacker: Give them the Virus: Hotlink skill. This will slow enemies and will save your ass.
Soldier: Give them the throw grenades skill and then the Crack Shot skill.
Force Psycher: give them Aegis Strike. That will place a field around the person with the lowest hitpoints and might save their ass if their shields go out.
When you finish the first mission and are taken back to the shop lady DO NOT PAY HER THE 200 to fix the robot. You need every single dime to hire a party of 4, or you are probably all going to die. Unfortunately this is currently bugged and you can't ask her about the robot again.